Aboard the Jolly Roger
by Younger Dr. Grey
Summary: Regina spends a lot of time looking into Emma's eyes. There's a trust there that hasn't been in Henry's identical pair for years. Though, if she's being completely honest, there's something so inherently Emma, so maddening, that Regina can't bear to look away. / A look into life aboard the Jolly Roger


Journey to Neverland by portal takes longer than expected. Longer meaning that once the ship tips down into the swirling vortex, the lot of them pop back up in a haze of green that refuses to fade. For a second, the color of the blur matches the outer ring of Emma's eyes. Regina seeks those eyes out in the moment, but the savior's a little preoccupied with other matters.

Snow and David cling to each other with one arm each wrapped around the other's waist. Hook chokes the steering wheel to maintain control. Emma holds onto the railing, and the way she stares, the stiffness in her, makes Regina wonder exactly how Emma's last magical trip went. In the Enchanted Forest, Emma dealt with a lot. Would she handle going in again? Would any of them?

Rumple seems more focused with watching his globe than watching the rest of them so Regina makes her move towards Emma. She only gets a few steps before Emma glances up. Regina stills in her step before continuing to the railing. She leaves distance between the two of them, enough space that Henry could fit in were he there and not with Greg and Tamara. Regina wonders how this happens, how her sins come back to haunt them all. Yet, it's more than Regina. Henry's not a ploy to get to her. Henry's worth going into the mines seconds before the whole town could've blown to pieces. But why?

Emma clears her throat. Regina glances over, but Emma still watches the green around them.

Maybe if Regina speaks, Emma will too. What does Regina say? Does she thank Emma? She shouldn't. Emma didn't do it to help Regina. She did it to survive. And it's not as if saying thank you starts a conversation worth having. Is any conversation even worth having when Henry's been kidnapped and they've just saved an entire town? Surely not one about manners and pleasantries. Asking about Emma's past, on the other hand, might be too intrusive. Though, perhaps Regina could try to talk about Neal. That would be new. Pleasant maybe. At the very least, it could be helpful for Emma.

Regina twists her hands around the railing, gripping with both hands the way one does a bike. With a steadying breath, she says, "I suppose you were right. About Rumple's son. About possibly losing Henry for good."

"Don't say that." Regina wonders which part Emma means. "We won't lose Henry." Emma peeks at Regina, yet her voice implores. "You can't talk like that."

Regina revs her hands again. "I've lost Henry before. I doubt I'll ever stop thinking that each moment is our last one. I…." Regina glances at Emma through the side of her eyes. "Thank you for letting him come to me. Even if it wasn't your finest parenting decision."

Emma scoffs, but her normal frustration isn't there. She turns a bit, so that her hip leans on the wooden posts. "Right, 'cause if we're going to die, we might as well have died far away from you."

Regina stiffens a bit. The thought of them dying — Henry, Emma, Snow… "I told you to leave."

"Regina, when have I ever listened to you?"

Regina can't help the grin that forms. Emma does have a talent for that, doesn't she? Though, as challening and refreshing as it can be, that talent also nearly cost them their lives, multiple times. Emma has to listen sometimes. They all do. She's earned that much at least.

She struggles at voicing that. Her voice comes out almost hesitant, hopeful, wistful. "Perhaps that can change one day."

Emma glances down to their hands. There's still a distance but their fingers angle towards each others. Regina forces her hand not to move, not to shy away. They've already made magic. Twice. No need to act as if that's anything new.

Except it is. It was intentional the last time, the magic. The magical waves Regina felt before Emma joined in felt almost exactly like the aftershock of the electrocution — a slow roasting of her nerves and the glitching shaking of her system. But once Emma helped, the roasting eased and her skin calmed to the point where she felt lighter, like the first time she got magic to work, like all she had beneath her fingers was bath water for Henry.

Regina blinks the thought away. She truly needn't think like that. Her only thoughts should be of Henry, of saving him.

"Perhaps," Emma says. Regina's eyes jump to her. "Or maybe it's your turn to listen. To trust in someone."

"In you, Miss Swan?"

Emma shakes her head. She peers over Regina's shoulder to where Snow and David are talking. Emma focuses back on Regina. "In all of us."

"I've never been particularly good at trusting," Regina admits.

"Then I guess we'll figure it out together. We've, uh, kind of got a lot to figure out." And Regina is the one to look at their hands that time. Emma amends, "About Henry."

"Of course. About Henry."


End file.
